Advice from a Jewish Eating Champion

Ahead of a hamantaschen eating contest, Don “Moses” Lerman dished

On Sunday afternoon, I will embark on my first formal foray into competitive eating. By the grace of God and gluttony, I will be one of the non-professional entrants in the 2nd Annual EL AL Israel Airlines Hamantaschen Eating Championship.

It has long been a dream of mine to win free round-trip airfare to Israel and to be in a country with national healthcare in case I begin to notice symptoms of early onset diabetes. With any luck, Sunday’s event will hasten both!

To prepare for this occasion, I enlisted the advice of Don “Moses” Lerman, who is frequently referenced as a pioneer in the field of competitive eating. Lerman, who is now retired, once ate seven quarter-pound sticks of salted butter in five minutes and housed six pounds of baked beans in less than two minutes. Some of his other accolades include:

For an added bonus, here is video of Lerman breaking the world bologna-eating record. (2.76 pounds in six minutes)

*About 2:30 in, he burps and then goes into overdrive*

So I asked Lerman what I should do to prepare for my hamantaschen binge and here’s what the sensei of scarf suggested:

1. Eat as much as I can the day before to expand my stomach
2. Drink one gallon of water, replacing a quart with Gatorade to maintain electrolytes
3. Bring some warm water in a thermos to soften the hamantaschen
4. Don’t focus on the other eaters

Last year’s non-professional winner ate fourteen hamantaschen in five minutes, so that’s the yardstick. I am now drinking water and visualizing myself eating 15 hamantaschen.

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I’m not sure you need to worry about your electrolytes if you’re going to be eating as much as you can.

marjoriesays:

February 22, 2013 - 1:47 pm

Go, Adam! This is thrilling and disgusting in approximately equal measure.

Royqsays:

February 22, 2013 - 2:28 pm

Will any Jewish doctors be present to weep?

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